


The Bet

by orphan_account



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bill Denbrough Stutters, College, Fluff, M/M, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Soft Bill Denbrough, no one dies here, stanley is a panicked gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22681435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Stanley finds out about a bet between his friends where they're betting he'll be with Bill. Hijinks ensue.
Relationships: Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier (background)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 89





	The Bet

**Author's Note:**

> Another stanbrough fic cause I'm soft for them. Hope you guys like it!

When Stanley found out about the bet through a very drunk Richie Tozier, he couldn't believe it. He narrowed his eyes at his very intoxicated friend and roommate and tried to find out if he was just poking fun of him, as he tended to. Turned out that Richie was being dead serious.

"So," he started, still surprised. "our group of friends made a _bet_ that me and Bill will end up together?"

"Yes. We did." Richie shrugged, taking another sip straight from the bottle of wine as if it was water, his voice sounding more and more like mumbling by the second. "Me, Eddie, Bev and Mike are betting that it will happen."

"What about Ben?"

"We needed someone to bet against." Stanley frowned at that. "He's against us. Not by his choice. Remember those class activities we used to do in school where we had to divide the class in two and we had to defend something even if we didn't agree with it? Yeah, Ben's basically doing that by pure and absolute pressure. By the way, those fucking activities were totally fucked up! The teacher's made us defend so many bad things-"

Richie went on with his rant about the terrible method of teaching from their old teachers back in school before they got into college. Stan didn't pay too much attention, his mind going back to the bet their friends had made behind his back. Why did they think him and Bill would end up together? 

If Stanley was being honest, he did like Bill, but not in that way. Although Bill was cute, and Stanley did find his smile, his stutter _and_ his inclination to doing stupid things very endearing sometimes, he never thought of Bill like that…

Did Bill think of _him_ like that?

His mind wandered through this idea for a few minutes, clearly lost in his own mind as he did so, only coming back to reality once Richie snapped his fingers in front of Stanley's face. 

"Earth to Stanley. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Stan quickly said. "I'm fine."

He was, indeed, fine. Just very confused about his own thoughts on one of his best friends. That led to some stressful days for Stanley, specially whenever Bill was around.

* * *

The next day, after the chat with drunk Richie, the whole group went for lunch together. It was a nice day out, the sky was blue with just a few clouds but it wasn't terribly hot outside. They all walked to a small restaurant that was near the campus and sold their food for a reasonable price since their costumers were local college kids who were broke and couldn't afford to pay for expensive food. It wasn't the best food any of them had eaten in their lives, sometimes it came with no salt at all and the taste was bland, but it was good enough for young adults whose only goal was to not die from starvation or from eating only fast-food.

When they finally sat down, Stanley had to deal with the fact that Bill was the one by his side, not making his situation any better. Richie and Eddie were sitting together as usual, bickering about something that Stan didn't even care to find out what it was anymore since it was always some bullshit that made Stan want to scream for them to assume they liked each other already — everyone in the group knew about them, they were the only fools who thought they didn't. Mike was at the head of the table, smiling as he and Bev talked to a stressed out Ben who needed help with his studies. Meanwhile, by his side, Bill looked at the menu as if he was reading a book, his brown furrowed as he concentrated very heavily while choosing between the chicken cream with the bland taste or the rice with the barely salted beef — the only things Bill actually liked in that place.

Stanley really didn't mean to stare, he usually was more discrete at that, but he couldn't stop himself from watching his friend closely. Again, Bill was — by all means — cute. Stan could even risk a handsome at that. His eyes always seemed to be intense, doesn't matter what he was doing, the clear blue in them always making Stanley mesmerized. The furrow on his brown was also something Stan noticed he liked, it made him seem concentrated, as if he would raise his head from the menu at any minute and tell everyone what he planned for them to eat very seriously — which Stanley didn't doubt could happen once Bill was kind of the leader after all. There was a rogue strand of hair on his forehead that Stanley only described in his head as " _cute and strangely attractive_ ". He only stopped staring when all of the sudden Bill's eyes were on his. 

Bill raised his eyebrows, silently asking Stanley why he was staring, while he only felt his whole face grow hot under Bill's gaze. He needed a good excuse to get him out of there, so he straightened his posture and shrugged as if he was trying to look normal. From the other side of the table, Richie raised his eyebrows as he watched the whole scene unravel.

"Will you share the menu or will you analyse every option as if you didn't know what there is to pick here?"

Bill frowned before smiling apologetically and handing Stanley the menu. Stanley wanted to scream that he had done nothing wrong and he was the weird one there once he saw the look on Bill's eyes, instead taking the menu and staring blankly at it as he screamed at himself in his head. Richie snorted, knowing very well that all of that happened because Stanley knew about the bet, getting a slap on the back of his head from Eddie that quickly distracted him again.

* * *

Three days after hearing about bet Stanley realized that one of his papers were with Bill. He had left his essay with Bill because — from all the Losers — he was the best writer and he would be able to fix anything that Stanley had done wrong. He considered waiting for the next day to pick them up once it was already 9pm and he didn't want to wander the corridors of the dorms to get to Bill's room, neither he wanted to see Bill yet, but he only had that night to finish everything and hand it on the afternoon of the next day. So, with a sigh, Stanley left his dorm still in his sleeping clothes, walking a few corridors and getting to Bill and Mike's door. He knocked calmly, hearing Bill's voice from the other side and swallowing his spit as he waited for someone to open the door. When it did open, he wished it didn't.

Bill was there, only covered by a towel and his body completely wet as if he had just left the shower. He opened the door completely once he saw it was Stan there, raising his eyebrows and smiling lightly, as if that whole situation was normal — and it _was_ normal until Stanley started questioning his feelings towards the guy in front of him. Stanley froze for a moment, his eyes widening and trying to stay on Bill's eyes, right before his body acted for him. He turned around, not saying a word, and walked away from Bill's door, completely forgetting what he went to do there. Once he remembered he _really_ needed those papers, he turned back with a grunt, seeing Bill still looking at him with a confused look in his eyes. 

"My essay." Stanley mumbled. "I need it."

It took Bill a moment to understand what Stanley was saying, but once he did, he moved away to give Stan space for him to walk in.

"It's on my duh-desk. Right side. Th-there's a _post-it_ with your name on it."

Stanley walked past him, going straight to his desk and seeing a pile of organized papers in the middle of the mess on top of the desk. There was, indeed, a _post-it_ with Stanley's name in Bill's handwriting there, together with a smiley face that made Stan smile slightly. He could already see the notes all over the pages on red ink from Bill, telling him he would have a rough night fixing everything. 

"Is e-everything okay, Stan?" Bill's voice asked.

He was still standing next to the door, his hand holding the towel tightly so it wouldn't fall while his hair was dripping wet, making Stanley focus on the fact that he was making the carpet wet so his mind would stay away from the fact that Bill was almost completely naked in front of him. It was easier to deal with his OCD than with _that_. 

"Yeah. Everything is fine." he picked his papers, pressing them against his chest. "Thanks for helping me with these."

Bill smiled again, a small smile that seemed to make his eyes shine every time he did that. It was warm and Stanley only saw that specific smile whenever Bill talked to Georgie or when he really cared about something or someone. It almost distracted Stan from the fact that he was just in a towel. _Almost_. The surprise there was that Stan knew that smile at all. He didn't even realize how much he knew about Bill until these last few days.

"It's nuh-no problem." he said, the smile never leaving his face. "That was all?"

Stanley seemed to wake up from a trance, nodding rapidly and walking out the door, waving goodbye at Bill before the door closed again.

* * *

One week after he heard about the bet, Stanley was sitting on his windowsill, watching the campus. It was friday night, Richie had left to " _take a walk_ " when in reality he was probably with Eddie having a lovely time while Ben was forced out of his dorm by Eddie so that date could even happen. Stanley's blue eyes watched the campus as his mind wandered about various stuff, consistently going through his feelings about Bill multiple times. He was still confused, he couldn't really get a grip on what that feeling was.

Stanley wasn't stupid, far from it. He knew what those feelings _were_ , but he didn't know how they _started_. Maybe they started long ago and Stanley just pushed them down as a friendship, but maybe they started because Richie had told him his friends thought they would end up together. Maybe it started because Stanley was questioning everything too much and it was indeed a friendship but he was reading too much into it. He sighed loudly, messing with his hair and mumbling to himself to get a grip. To solve that problem. It shouldn't be hard. 

He jumped slightly when he heard Bill's voice calling his name, thinking he finally went crazy, but his eyes looked down quickly and saw Bill on the grass, seemingly arriving from somewhere. Stanley frowned a little bit, getting down from the windowsill and leaning against the wall.

"What?" he said loudly.

"Do yuh-you have anything to do tonight?"

"No. I'm alone here while Richie is fucking with Eddie or something."

"Hey!" a third voice screamed, making Bill and Stanley look around and seeing Bowers with his head out of one of the windows of the dorms, his face completely filled with disgust. "Can you two stop screaming about this gay shit?"

"Ass fucking!" Stanley screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Duh-dicks!" Bill added, their screams probably being heard by the entire building.

"Have you heard about docking?"

" _Yas queen_."

"You two are fucking disgusting!" Bowers screamed before closing his window with so much force that Stanley didn't even know how it didn't break the glass.

"Anyway," Bill laughed, his eyes turning back to Stanley while both of them were smiling with what just happened. "I was guh-going to my room but saw you th-there. Can I go up there?"

Stanley thought for a moment, hesitating before saying a quick " _sure_ " and watching as Bill smiled before entering the building. Stanley didn't bother to clean anything, Bill had already seem his and Richie's room and he already knew about the mess that was Richie's side of the room, so there was no worries there. He heard knocks on the door after a while and opened it quickly, letting Bill enter and seeing him carrying a pack of soda cans with him. Stan raised his eyebrows at that after closing the door, seeing Bill smile softly, almost shyly, at him. 

"I know you duh-don't drink and I had this in my room so I thought we could sh-share."

That was the nudge that Stanley needed to know he wasn't overthinking about what he felt for Bill. That small gesture, that worry Bill had in not bring alcohol to Stanley but a pack of sodas, made his chest feel warm and he needed to look away from him as he felt his cheeks getting warm as well. 

_He did like Bill after all._

And yet, he didn't know if Bill liked him back, so he just put himself back together and cleaned a place on his desk for Bill to put the sodas, seeing him take one for himself and one for Stan. They sat on Stanley's bed, drinking the soda and talking about their weeks. Stanley was slightly less panicked now that he knew exactly what those feelings were, so the conversation was normal, the way they always talked ever since they were kids in Derry.

It was a good friday night.

* * *

Two weeks after Stanley knew about the bet, just one after he accepted his feelings towards Bill, nothing new had happened. They went on with their daily lives like always, but now Stanley was constantly reminded he _liked_ Bill everytime they were together. That friday night, all the Losers decided to get together at Ben and Eddie's room — which everyone decided was the biggest one even if both of them insisted that it made _no sense_ for theirs to be bigger. The truth was that Stanley already made the decision to only stand Richie's mess on their room, so there was _no way_ there would be a get together there. Mike and Bill were always too busy to even clean their room before or after their meetings, so it would be awful for them to get everyone together there. Bev's dorm was a _no-no_. It was easier sneaking her into the boy's dorm than sneaking six boys into the girl's. So, the only room left was Ben and Eddie's. 

Everyone was having a good time, laughing and drinking — except for Stanley and Bill, who were drinking soda together —, when Richie gave Stan a knowing look. What Richie knew was a mystery, but made Stanley shiver anyway. A playful smile filled his lips and, at that point, Stanley was ready to run and hide.

"I have an idea!" his mumbled words gave away he was already tipsy by the beers. "Let's play a game!"

"There he goes." Eddie said, looking directly at Richie. "What kind of game, Richie?"

"Truth or dare!" everyone groaned. "You all are pussies."

"Come on, Richie. We're twenty one." Bev pointed out.

Stanley couldn't help but watch everything develop in front of him. He knew very well why Richie was proposing that game in particular. 

"What is it, Beverly? Scared someone will find out about your secrets?"

Beverly stared at him for a moment before a grin appeared on her lips. She had something planned. 

"Fine, _Dickard_. Let's do this."

It took a few moments for everyone to agree to play and suddenly they were all on a circle with an empty beer bottle in the middle. Richie gave the first spin while Stanley held his breath. It landed on Mike and Bev. The first few rounds were boring and yet funny. Everyone there knew each other's limitations, so the truths weren't cruel and the dares weren't absurd. Stanley was starting to get calmer when the impossible happened. The bottle landed on Richie and him. Richie would be asking and Stanley would be answering. Stanley raised his eyes from the bottle slowly, staring at Richie with pleading eyes. It apparently didn't work.

"Truth or dare, Stan?"

Stan took a moment to think. If he chose truth, he would probably ask if Stanley liked Bill. That would be catastrophic, because Stanley would lie. He would say "no" and maybe, if he ever had a chance with Bill, that would probably ruin it. So, with a gulp, Stanley finally answered.

"Dare." the smile on Richie's face made him regret his decision.

"I dare you to kiss Billiam."

Everyone in the room who wasn't Stanley or Bill let out a small " _ooh_ " at the dare. Stanley turned to Bill immediately, seeing him staring him back, his face as pale as Stanley's. Maybe he could call out on Richie's bullshit and get away with it, but he stopped himself as he noticed that Bill looked at him as if he was expecting him to do something. He wanted that kiss? He wasn't going to back down? _He liked Stanley?_

After a few seconds, Stanley decided to stop himself from stopping himself. He went against his mind's wishes to back down and got closer to Bill, slowly getting his face next to his to let him refuse it if he wanted to.

Bill didn't refuse the kiss, their lips meeting after a few seconds and their eyes closing as Stanley almost gasped at how soft Bill's lips felt. The kiss made a warmth spread through his whole body, from the top of his head to the tips of his fingers. He had kissed other people before, but it never felt as right as this one. He felt one of Bill's hands going to his cheek, his thumb brushing Stanley's skin lightly, making the warmth only grown on his body. When their lips parted, Stanley kept his eyes closed for a moment, still feeling the ghost of Bill's lips on his, right before opening them and losing his breath completely. 

Bills eyes were shining in a way he had never seen before, the blue seemingly more intense than normal at that moment, right before they both got back to their original positions and Stanley finally looked at Richie again, who was taking a sip of his beer with a smirk on his face. Stan glared at him for that, but — deep down — he was rather thankful. 

The night kept going normally. They played a few more rounds and, when the bottle finally landed on Bev and Richie, Richie chose truth and Bev asked him if he and Eddie were a thing. Due to the alcohol, Richie didn't even hesitate before saying "yes", realizing what he had said when it was too late and making Eddie hide his face on his hands as Richie tried to pretend, with no success, that it was a joke. Eddie got tired of it and confessed for both of them that they started dating, but were waiting to see where things were going before telling everyone. The whole group cheered at them, but Stanley was a little off the entire night after the kiss.

Once it was already really late, everyone started leaving. Bev went first, since she had to run back to her building without being noticed, and Richie, Mike, Stanley and Bill left a bit after, leaving Eddie and Ben on their dorm alone again to fix the mess the next morning. Mike was in front with a barely responsive Richie while Stanley and Bill walked side to side, the tension caused by the kiss making both of them uncomfortable. Once they were a only few corridors from their respective rooms, Stanley felt a hand holding his arm and pulling him to stay back, leaving Mike and Richie to walk away without them. Stanley looked up, his eyes widened with confusion and fear of what Bill would do.

"About e-earlier…" he said, his hands playing with the sides of his jacket. "About th-the kiss…" 

Stanley waited, clenching his jaw as he expected Bill to apologise about it and tell him it was stupid, or just crush Stanley's hopes completely. 

"You wh-wanted it as much as me."

It wasn't a question. Bill wasn't asking him if he did, he was saying it as if it was a fact, which meant he noticed that Stanley wanted that kiss. And, even more important than that, Bill wanted it too. Stan's eyes widened once more as he felt himself stop breathing for a moment. 

They stared at each other, a silent conversation going on between them before Bill got closer to him, holding Stanley's face with both of his hands and kissing him again, this time with a bit more of urgency. The nice warmth spread through Stanley's body again and he put his hands over Bill's on his own face, kissing him back and feeling the heavy weight of not knowing of Bill reciprocated his feelings going away all at once. They stayed there for a few moments, kissing each other in the middle of the corridor, before someone cleared their throat, catching their attention.

Mike was looking at both of them with his eyebrows raised, looking like he knew he walked into something he shouldn't. 

"Richie is asleep on his bed already." he said, making Stanley nod and move away from Bill.

"Thanks Mike." Mike only nodded, looking at Bill once and smiling knowingly before going away. 

Once Mike disappeared again, Stanley felt Bill's hand holding his own softly, his eyes as soft as his touch as he looked at Stan. "Can wuh-we talk about th-this tomorrow? Over breakfast?"

"Is that a date?" Stanley asked, a smile on his lips as he saw Bill smile and his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"If you wh-want it to be…"

* * *

Three weeks after Stanley heard about the bet and one week after the first kiss, the entire group were together on the small restaurant again, while Richie, Bev, Eddie and Mike hit the table while chanting " _Money! Money! Money!_ " at a very unhappy Ben who was taking his wallet from his pocket. Stanley sighed, running his hand through his face as finally the bet was won by the four of them, leaving Ben with no choice but to pay for his poor choice in letting everyone convince him into betting against them. Bill was looking at everything with a confused look, his arm wrapped around Stanley's shoulder. 

"What's huh-happening?"

"Billiam, Billiam, Billiam…" Richie said, taking his part of the money from Ben — the total of five dollars — before looking back at Bill. "We had a bet that you and Stanley would be a couple until the end of college."

"You had a _what?_ "

"Aren't you glad you two are together?" Richie pocketed his money and smiled widely at Bill, who looked more disappointed than anything. "I sure am!"

"You knew about this?" Bill asked Stanley, who shrugged immediately.

"Found out a few weeks ago ‘cause Richie can't keep his mouth shut whenever he's drunk."

"If I hadn't said anything, you would never realize your crush on Bill here. You're blind sometimes, Stanley Uris. Glad I'm the one with glasses here so I can see what you can't."

"That's not how glasses work." Mike pointed out.

"You know what I mean!"

Everybody laughed lightly and the conversation trailed off quickly. Once everyone seemed distracted, Bill's hand squeezed Stanley's shoulder softly, catching his attention. Bill's eyes were uncertain.

"You're… You're nuh-not with me because of th-this bet, are you?"

Stanley smiled softly, knowing that Bill would wonder about that once he found out about the bet and the fact that Stanley knew about it. In response, he placed a kiss on Bill's lips, making his cheeks go red as if Stanley had done something very intimate. 

"I'm with you 'cause I want to be. It took a little nudge to figure it out, but I do want that." Stanley smiled again. "I want _us_."

Bill smiled softly, that warm smile he now knew was reserved for the people Bill loved, placing a kiss on Stanley's forehead before turning his face back to his friends. Stanley smiled, doing the same, feeling himself lighter now that he had Bill by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave kuddos and comments if you liked it please! <3
> 
> EDIT: There'll be a chapter 2! More Hijinks will ensue.


End file.
